The moment I realized who the opponent was, I immediately gathered divine power and channeled it into my mace.
If this forest belongs to the Queen, then the one to mark the end of this trial must also be the Queen.
“Wait. Please, listen to me!”
“What do you have to say? I don’t have the stomach to talk to a rotting old woman like you.”
“...Ughhh.”
The Fairy Queen seemed to have a lot to say, but she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, and all that escaped were screams filled with indignation.
Watching her like this, a question arose in my mind.
Is the Fairy Queen really the end of this trial?
She’s too clumsy for something that’s been tainted by the Dark God, isn’t she?
If the Fairy Queen had truly succumbed to the Dark God, she should have already gone mad and started attacking me, right?
“If you’ve got something to say, spit it out already, old woman. Unlike the rotting old hag, my time is precious.”
“Y-Yes... I understand.”
As I lowered my mace to show that I would listen, the Fairy Queen sighed and continued.
“You’ve seen it for yourself as you came here. The state of this forest.”
“Yeah. The smell of a chicken coop was so strong that even the old hag seemed normal compared to all the disgusting things.”
“...Can you stop using that chicken coop hag expression?”
“Why? Isn’t it true that the old hag reeks of rot?”
“No matter how... Haaa, I get it. Anyway, if you’ve seen the fairies devoured by darkness, then you understand the crisis this forest is facing. It’s a shameful story, but this forest has been swallowed by the Dark God.”
What the Fairy Queen told me wasn’t too different from what I already knew.
The creeping power of darkness invading the forest. The fairies who failed to notice it.
By the time they realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
“I’ve done everything I could to correct my mistakes, but all that returned to me were scenes like this.”
The Fairy Queen failed.
If she had been in perfect condition, things might have been different, but after more than half of the fairy forest had been consumed, and most of the fairies had fallen under the Dark God, she became a prisoner of fate.
The Fairy Queen, who thought of the fairies under her care as children, could never bring herself to attack the other fairies.
In this hopeless situation, the last choice the Fairy Queen made was to endure.
She believed that salvation would come one day.
She believed that the great gods would save them.
She believed that heroes who would fight the Dark God from above the world would one day stand here.
Endure.
And keep enduring.
“In the end, this is just the story of an old woman who’s outdated and useless, right? You really talk way too much, just like an old hag.”
“That... I suppose so.”
Watching the Fairy Queen hang her head without even being able to get angry, I thought about her future.
The Fairy Queen’s struggles would ultimately go unfulfilled.
She would be consumed by the Dark God and placed at the frontlines of the war.
She would spill the blood of many, destroy the nature she was supposed to protect, and sacrifice the lives of the fairies she considered her children, only to eventually be hunted down by the heroes.
The problem was that the Fairy Queen wasn’t just any ordinary being.
As long as fairies existed in this world, no matter how many times they defeated her, she would always come back to life as a conceptual existence.
In the end, what the heroes chose was to seal the Fairy Queen along with the entire forest.
So she could live forever in her dream, turning her gaze away from the miserable reality and spending eternity in a perpetual slumber.
“I know I have no shame, but Hero who carries the will of the gods, please save this forest. Please save the fairies who are going astray because of my incompetence.”
I couldn’t answer the Fairy Queen who was bowing her head.
This place was Ganshu’s trial.
A space that recreates a scene from history that has already occurred. No matter what happens here, what is meant to happen will happen.
It is impossible to change history that has already been recorded.
A small fry has crawled in.
A sinister voice came from beyond the forest’s darkness.
The moment that voice pierced my ears, nightmares of everything I had experienced surged into my mind.
The wooden sword that had been aimed at my head.
The Minotaur’s fists that had been shot at me to crush me after the collapse.
The gaze of Nakrad, who had looked at me like I was a mere creature.
Fear.
Fear.
Endless fear.
One by one, it swelled up, tightening my throat.
Calm down.
I could feel my hands trembling.
My breath wasn’t coming properly.
I had to calm down.
My thoughts were interrupted.
This is just a trial.
I heard something drop to the ground.
That voice isn’t real.
My weakening legs gave way.
It’s fine.
I don’t want this.
It’s fine.
This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.
Help me.
There’s nothing wrong.
I don’t want to die.
It’s fine.
I’m sorry.
It’s fine.
Please, save me.
“...Huuuu.”
I bit my lip hard and once again gathered the divine power that had fallen apart.
As the darkness that had seeped into my mind faded, my consciousness returned.
As I staggered and stood up, I saw the Fairy Queen’s compassionate gaze upon me.
The reflection of myself in her eyes was utterly pitiful.
Haha. Damn. Is this the Dark God who had all that power?
Was this the kind of enemy I had to face in the mythic era when the gods of light and dark waged war?
What kind of battles did my grandfather fight?
Even Benedict might be strong enough to think he could win, but what about me?
I wiped my face to clear the signs of emotions breaking out, then picked up the shield and mace that had fallen to the ground, looking toward the direction the voice had come from.
“Run.”
The Fairy Queen urgently cried out.
“You’re not strong enough to face that person yet. You must run. Survive and tell the story of this forest.”
“Old woman, have you lost your mind? Where should I run to?”
I asked as I looked at the forest, now darkened.
While I asked, the darkness in the forest grew thicker. The Dark God was drawing closer.
“...I have power that I’ve been saving for the final moment. If I use it, I can at least send you out.”
“But then you’ll be completely consumed, right?”
“It’s fine. It’s just the price I have to pay for my mistakes.”
The Fairy Queen’s words were cold truth.
Even now, fear of death swelled in my heart.
My hands were still trembling.
My breath was still frantic.
My head kept ringing with alarm bells.
But if you asked me if I was about to collapse...
I wasn’t exactly at that point.
“Sorry, but I don’t really want any help from a rotting old woman. If I get involved with you, I might even catch the smell of that chicken coop.”
“This isn’t the time for that! If you stay like this, you will—!”
“So what? That gloomy, shut-in, totally useless guy. Do you think a little power change will change anything after he got beaten and ran away like a pathetic coward?”
If I can keep my emotions in check, it’s not completely impossible to deal with this guy.
Anyway, no one’s fought the full might of the Dark God as much as I have.
Even my grandfather, who faced him directly, probably hadn’t seen as much of it as I have.
Of course, he didn’t defeat this shut-in bastard as much as I have either.
“Just watch. Rotten old hag.”
I don’t believe in impossible situations.
Sometimes, not being able to do something means you can’t.
Just like how my tone doesn’t change no matter how much I make a fuss.
Just like how all the sneaky things I did to raise my intelligence turned out to be meaningless.
Just like how no matter how much I insult him, the fool will just keep liking it.
But Soul Academy is different. In the dungeon, impossible doesn’t exist.
The rotting water makes even the faintest hope seem natural.
“You’ll be living alone forever, so get used to just sitting around in a daze.”
I forced a laugh and finished my words, then took a step forward, desperately ignoring the growing tremor inside me.
Heh. Maybe it’s a good thing.
This is the new content I’ve been hoping for.
Not dungeon exploration, but more of a mini-game about protecting something. It’s kind of lame, but...
What can I do? If they released something like this, I’ll just thank them and gobble it up.
Are you trying to face me, you lowly creature?
“Even if that lowly thing gets beaten up, it won’t be scary, you know?♡ Before you get crushed again, just crawl into a corner and hide♡...”
The moment I was babbling to face the Dark God, the scenery around me scattered, and the library appeared before my eyes.
Ganshu, who stood opposite me, was staring at me with an expression that said he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
The tension that had filled me when I faced that annoying little kid disappeared, and my body naturally relaxed.
When the old man, who had come to my side, held me up, I didn’t fall, but if he hadn’t, I probably would have collapsed to the floor.
“You really haven’t changed.”
As I tried to breathe deeply to push away the fear I had been ignoring, Ganshu shook his head with a wry smile and spoke.
This damn little brat. He set up the trial and, instead of apologizing, is still acting like this.
I can’t forgive him.
I’ll never forgive him.
“Is it like this? Like how your body and mind are small, huh?♡”
“...Hmm. I made a mistake earlier, so I guess I’ll take that insult.”
“It’s probably small between your legs, huh?♡ Maybe the size of a finger?♡ Or do you even have it?♡ What a pathetic sight, I bet you ran away from it all♡.”
“...”
“Heh. Does it hurt when it’s actually true?♡ Sorry~♡ I didn’t realize.”
I vented everything I couldn’t say before, and soon Ganshu’s face turned bright red.
Even though his veins were popping, he couldn’t retort, which was more than enough to trigger my sadistic side.
If I torment him a little more, will he cry?
I’d love for him to sob and say he won’t forgive me.
That would be so much fun.
Just as I was about to seek advice from weakness analysis on where to strike, the old man pressed hard on my head.
Surprised by his overwhelming strength, I quickly turned my head, and Ganshu shook his head with a bitter laugh.
“Stop it.”
“What’s up, grandpa? Is that brat your type?”
“...That’s not it. I’m just saying, you keep moving your lips and you might not get what you need.”
“Not get what I need?”
After going through the trial, Ganshu has no choice but to give me [History Confirmation].
The promise of the gods isn’t something so trivial.
I tilted my head, still confused by the old man’s words, and Ganshu sighed deeply.
Then he walked over to me and handed me a book.
“Choose the blessing you desire from here. I will give it to you in whatever way I can.”
The title of the book Ganshu handed me was [The Power of the Gods].